Equal Exchange

Standards

Companies who provide customers with all of the context and knowledge they need to make informed purchases.

Company Description

Equal Exchange offers a line of coffees and teas along with a handful of other “fair foods.”

Equal Exchange works with farms around the world to bring their products to the United States fairly and equitably. They currently have over 40 farming partnerships with small farmer organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States. Their website has detailed information on all of their farming partners, and a step-by-step breakdown of the production of all their various products, so that you can always know exactly how the product came to you. In 2017, Equal Exchange established a Donor Advised Fund with a $165,000 initial investment to support their key farmer partners as they work to combat the impacts of climate change, protect threatened ecosystems, and increase rural prosperity.

Equal Exchange, founded in 1986, was an early mover on Fair Trade, partnering initially with just a single farming cooperative in Nicaragua. The company is democratic and worker-owned, with every employee’s vote counted equally.